As Democrats and Republicans debate raising the debt ceiling, they both agree that a default would be disastrous for the economy. But how? WSJ explains why U.S. debt has become the center of the economy. Photo Illustration: Madeline Marshalland is unable to pay all its bills this summer, the pain will fall squarely on the defense industry.
National security is by far the largest category of discretionary federal spending, with budgets rising over the past two years to counter China’s military expansion and tackle . Discretionary military spending reached three-quarters of a trillion dollars last year, up from $590 billion five years ago.